Red Rock Volleyball Has Made Walnut Creek Its East Bay Headquarters
Girls volleyball is the premier girls sport in the United States in middle and high school athletics.
The Shadelands SportsMall recently welcomed Red Rock Volleyball, the largest volleyball club in Northern California, to the premier youth athletics training facility in Shadelands. Red Rock Volleyball founder and owner David Huan and his team have moved into the SportsMall, upstairs, in what was originally the futsal court. Having established several volleyball club locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, David was looking to further expand his club in the East Bay and has chosen Walnut Creek as Red Rock Volleyball's East Bay headquarters.
David Huan, along with his wife and a business partner, established Red Rock Volleyball in 2012 in Redwood City. Over the years, Red Rock Volleyball expanded to San Francisco, Campbell, and into the East Bay, with locations in Alameda, Danville, and Martinez. In the East Bay, the club had been operating out of various shared locations, including schools and sports centers.
Red Rock Volleyball has moved into the Shadelands SportsMall in the former futsal arena, occupying close to 20,000 square feet for practice and game play.
Last year, Red Rock Volleyball was offered the opportunity to open in the Shadelands SportsMall, in the futsal space, with close to 20,000 square feet that easily accommodates four full volleyball courts. “Since I live in the area with my wife and family,” said David, “I was thrilled to open a dedicated space in the SportsMall, so I can be closer to the club and we can offer more opportunities for hundreds of girls and boys looking for quality volleyball programs close to their homes.”
Red Rock Volleyball has made Walnut Creek its East Bay headquarters.
“Our goals as a premier volleyball club have evolved over the past years. Our original approach was to build a small, boutique club — an elite club,” said David. “We recruited small numbers of players, formed small numbers of teams made up of only the best, most competitive players. But over time, we have found value in opening our membership to be more inclusive and to cater to all levels of the community. We have elite teams of kids who want to play and compete and continue to do so in college, and we have kids who simply love the sport and who just want to play and have fun while improving their game.”
Volleyball is a high intensity youth athletic sport that relies on teamwork, individual skills, and strategic thinking.
The premier girls sport in the United States in middle and high school athletics, girls volleyball is widely considered so popular because it’s a social and energetic experience, one in which all players participate in play and enjoy themselves among their teammates, coaches, and opponents. While it’s a physically active sport, there is little actual physical contact.
Girls’ and boys’ Red Rock Volleyball teams play competitively locally, nationally, and internationally.
Red Rock Volleyball owner David Huan (second from left) is flanked by coaches Jamie Hadenfeldt (far left), and Leslie Ray and Peter Chao (to the right).
“We have between 40 to 50 coaches, and pride ourselves on our quality coaching — not just the skill levels of our coaches, but their abilities to understand kids and interact with them and engage them fully as players and as young people,” said David. “Many of our coaches are current or former professional players; all of our coaches understand that coaching is a partnership between the player and the coach. For us, the most important part of the sport is that kids get a good coaching experience because that will shape what they do with volleyball and how they will feel about their team sport experiences.”
In addition to volleyball camps and clinics, Red Rock Volleyball has club programs for girls that run from November to May, with tryouts in October, and club programs for boys that run August through January. During the season, players practice during the week and travel to tournaments on the weekends
Red Rock Volleyball's skills training clinics focus on developing players' abilities in key volleyball techniques such as serving, passing, setting, hitting, and blocking.
“We start our players as young as 1st and 2nd grade, through 12th grade, when they age out at graduation. Hundreds of kids try out and we’ll put together the number of teams based on the number of kids trying out and the general demand for each age group.”
David grew up playing volleyball in Southern California, for sport and competition. Then he coached a few clubs and high school teams in college, and the coaching bug got him. “One thing led to another and eventually I found myself coaching and building a club program with others. And here we are, from one small club in Redwood City, to this amazing dedicated space in the SportsMall. I feel very fortunate and excited for the future — excited for the opportunities for kids in the area, and for the opportunity to grow our Red Rock Volleyball programs.”
Red Rock Volleyball is well-known in Northern California, drawing competitive players to the club, as well as those who are simply looking for a strong and positive youth athletic experience.
“We have a strong, faithful following among older kids who are deep into club play and who know who we are and where we are. With our new space here, we’d like to expand our reach to younger kids — kids who are newer to the sport and families who are looking for fun, structured, youth athletic activities for their children — girls and boys.”
Boys volleyball is the fastest growing sport in middle and high school athletics in the United States.
Interestingly, boys volleyball is the fastest growing sport in the United States — a growth attributed to the sport's high-activity and athletic nature, as well as increased opportunities to play and join teams as local and regional clubs expand.
Red Rock Volleyball’s culture encourages the celebration of every team player’s efforts and accomplishments.
“We want boys and families to know there are opportunities here at Red Rock Volleyball to join a team sport for fun and for active, competitive play,” said David. “Traditionally, there are not as many local options for boys — they often have to travel further out to find volleyball clubs. Now, here in Shadelands, we’ve got opportunities to play closer to home and we want everyone to know that our doors are open.”
To learn more about Red Rock Volleyball’s programs, practices, and tournament schedule, visit Red Rock Volleyball.